Rail/ Intermodal Terminals

CAMCO Technologies has expanded its powerful gate systems and solutions to also automate rail and intermodal operations.

We offer basically the same tools as we use in marine terminals to automatically identify containers, record their condition and register them with the terminal host system, allowing the operators to increase their operational efficiencies, accuracy and productivity while reducing the operational and labor costs.

Typically Rail and Intermodal terminals can have different transportation modes:

• Containers delivered/ picked-up by rail
• Containers delivered/ picked-up by road trucks

Rail and Intermodal terminals handle also a mix of different type of boxes:

• containers
• tank containers
• trailers
• non-iso containers (intermodal containers)

Apart from standard containers, those boxes have no standard unified identification system. Some use numbers that are similar to container numbers but without the check digit, while others use propriety fleet numbers. Additionally the location of those numbers is variable and not standardized and can be found almost everywhere on the surface of the boxes.

The goal is for both modes the same; optimizing the handling of all containers and reducing their respective operating cost.

Truck Operations

Containers that are delivered and picked-up by trucks in rail and intermodal terminals do have similar gate procedures and processes as normal maritime container terminals, which means that for automating them, the same solutions can be implemented:

• Security kiosk systems for access control
• OCR Camera Portals for automatic identification and condition recording
• Gate Transaction kiosks for automating the registration processes
• Gate Operating System GOS to manage all processes

Train Operations

Typically, trains that deliver containers are manually checked by a train inspector. After the train entered the terminal this person walks alongside the train to visually inspect the rail cars and containers, entering the rail car and container numbers as well as possible damage. This process is timely and unsafe: the train and container handling can only start after this visual check is completely finalized, and all data is entered and validated in and by the terminal host system.

As the share of rail in the modal split is growing, terminal operators are also looking for solutions that can improve these processes, and reduce drastically its operating cost.

CAMCO developed its automated rail solution TrainGate that allows automatic container and rail car data collection via OCR as well as condition recording via Line-scan camera technology.

The intervention of a rail clerk is limited to the post-processing of all the recorded data via the TrainGate Operator Console before all data is interfaced with the terminal host system. Thanks to the intuitive graphical human interface of this TrainGate Operator Console checking and validating all data of a train can be done in a matter of minutes. It permits a faster start of the train and container handling, and thus a significant saving in time and operating cost.

To learn more about our TrainGate and TrainGate Operator Console solutions, please read more here or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .